How to set up HFM.NET and FahMon to monitor [email protected] progress. Now with videos.

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Folding Captain

There is a newer, better utility called HFM.NET. Click Here to see how to set that one up! (its the next post in this thread)

Here is a quick guide to show you how to set up FahMon in Windows.

Most of the guide will be done in Windows Vista 64-Bit, but the instructions will be the same for Vista 32-bit. I will provide screenshots for XP users that will show how to select the proper directory for that OS.

Step 1: Enable viewing of hidden files and folders

[email protected] saves files in a directory that Windows likes to hide from users. You need to be able to see these directories in order to set up FahMon properly. I will offer more information on these directories later, but for now, lets make it possible to actually see the directories first.

This works slightly different for Vista and XP. First, I will cover Vista.

FaHMon does not search your computer to see if you have installed [email protected] or not. You need to add the folder of the client you have installed manually. When FahMon first starts, it will look like this below, with no clients added:

Right-click in the FahMon "Main Window" as shown below, and click "Add a new client":

You will see the following window:

First, type in the Name you want to give your client (yellow highlight in the picture above). This name is for your own personal reference only, so you can type what you want. However, if at some point you want to fold with multiple clients (ie. using your GPU/Video card, and CPU folding as well later on), you might want to name the client you are about to select something meaningful.

In this case, I will name my client "GTX260", as that is the video card this particular client runs on in my computer:

Next, we need to select a location of our client. This is the directory that [email protected] downloads and saves all data. This directory changes depending on whether or not you use Vista, XP, the CPU client (also called the X86 client), or the GPU client.

These directories are listed below (and remember, you should have "Show Hidden Files and Folders" enabled in "Folder Options" as outlined in Step 1 before doing this, or you won't see the folder):

The above directories are for the "System Tray" client. If you installed the Console client (when you run it you see a small black "Dos" like window), you need to point FahMon to the folder in which you downloaded and ran the [email protected] console client. This could be anywhere on your computer. For example, if you are like me, you may have put this download on your "Desktop". In that case, you would have to point FahMon to C:\Users\(yourusername)\Desktop\[email protected]

If you use the SMP beta client, and used Xilikon's excellent guides on the FaH site or [H]ordeguides, you should point FahMon to C:\FAH . This is a suggested folder, especially in Vista, to avoid permissions issues.

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In the following example, I will add the GPU client I am using on Vista.
Click the directory list box, select your client folder, and press OK:

Then, press OK again. You should see your [email protected] work progress as in below:

Above, I highlighted the "PPD" section. This means "Points Per Day," and the higher it is, the better your totals will be. In this case, my GPU is getting 5588.66 points per day. This changes depending on the type of work your computer has received from the [email protected] servers.

Notfred Virtual Machines (not GPU or SMP folding)

Some people use vmware machines (virtual machines that run Linux inside of Windows. See this sticky for more info). If you do, make sure you have the latest version of FahMon. Then, as the virtual machine boots, pay attention to the IP address your router or gateway assigns your virtual machine as below:

You can see in the above example, my virtual machine was assigned the address 192.168.1.115 automatically. You do not login to your virtual machine. Simply look for the IP address (arrow above). In the "Location" field of the FahMon window below, you would type in exactly as shown:

\\192.168.1.115\c\etc\folding\1\

Also, please ensure that you have "Client is on a Virtual Machine" only if you are running the virtual machine client.

Linuxrouter's Bigadv Virtual Machine

If you are running the Linuxrouter '-bigadv' virtual machine, the default location to type in would be \\FAH\fah .

Step 6 (Optional): Show the Fahlog

There is still one more thing that is helpful to do. [email protected] creates a log file for each client you have running. This log file contains useful information, including your progress, and any errors you may be getting. These error messages are useful if you need help, as you can copy and paste the error into any forum threads you are asking for help on.

FahMon can display this log file for you. In FahMon's menu, just go to "View" and select "Show/Hide Fahlog" as below:

You should now see the log file as in below:

I highlighted the progress being shown in the log file above. Prior to this, in the log file you can see where I suspended the folding task, started it again, etc. If I scrolled up, I can see where I downloaded the task, and other instructions [email protected] carried out.

Folding Captain

With the new bonus point system for bigadv and SMP work units, and FahMon's slow adoption integrating this important development into their PPD calculations, it is wise to use a program called HFM.NET to monitor your [email protected] clients.

Here is a quick guide to show you how to set up HFM.NET in Windows 7. If you use XP, please refer to the post above to see how to view hidden files and folders first.

Most of the guide will be done in Windows 7 64-Bit, but the instructions will be the same for Win7 32-bit.

There are also some Youtube clips showing you how to do some of the steps.

Step 1: Enable viewing of hidden files and folders

[email protected] saves files in a directory that Windows likes to hide from users. You need to be able to see these directories in order to set up HFM.NET properly. I will offer more information on these directories later, but for now, lets make it possible to actually see the directories first.

Here is a quick Youtube clip showing you how to do this, followed by more specific instructions.

HFM.NET does not search your computer to see if you have installed [email protected] or not. You need to add the folder of the client you have installed manually. When HFM.NET first starts, it will look like this below, with no clients added:

***Note: If you don't see the "Log Viewer" as pictured above, please select View->Show/Hide Log/Queue Viewer as pictured below:

Next, we will add a GPU folding client. Select Clients->Add Client:

First, type in the Name you want to give your client (red arrow in the picture above). This name is for your own personal reference only, so you can type what you want. However, if at some point you want to fold with multiple clients (ie. using your GPU/Video card, and CPU folding as well later on), you might want to name the client you are about to select something meaningful.

In this case, I will name my client "GTX 285", as that is the video card this particular client runs on in my computer:

Next, we need to select a location of our client. This is the directory that [email protected] downloads and saves all data. This directory changes depending on whether or not you use Win7/Vista, XP, the CPU client (also called the X86 client), SMP, or the GPU client.

These directories are listed below (and remember, you should have "Show Hidden Files and Folders" enabled in "Folder Options" as outlined in Step 1 before doing this, or you won't see the folder):

The above directories are for the "System Tray" client. If you installed the Console client (when you run it you see a small black "Dos" like window), you need to point FahMon to the folder in which you downloaded and ran the [email protected] console client. This could be anywhere on your computer. For example, if you are like me, you may have put this download on your "Desktop". In that case, you would have to point FahMon to C:\Users\(yourusername)\Desktop\[email protected]

If you use the SMP client, and used Xilikon's excellent guides on the FaH site or [H]ordeguides, you should point FahMon to C:\FAH . This is a suggested folder, especially in Vista, to avoid permissions issues.

--------------

In the following example, I will add the GPU client I am using on Windows 7.
Click the directory list box, select your client folder, and press OK:

Ensure that you have selected the proper directory (see my example below) and press OK:

Status/Progress: This shows you if you are folding fine, and how far along you are with that current Work Unit, or "WU".In the above example, I have done 60% of the WU, and the status bar is green, which means all is OK.

Name: This is the name I gave the client earlier. remember, I used "GTX 285" since that was the video card I wish to monitor.

PPD: This means "Points Per Day," and the higher it is, the better your totals will be. In this case, my GPU is getting 9753.2 points per day. This changes depending on the type of work your computer has received from the [email protected] servers.

Below the progress window, I pointed out three other things that may be of use:

Project: On the left, I pointed to "P10501". This is the project number. This can be useful when asking for help, as it indicates the type of work being done. This changes often as you download new projects from the [email protected] servers.

Credit: Just below the project number, I pointed to "587". This is the points you will receive when you send you finish the work. If you hear someone say "I have a 587 point WU" this is what they are talking about.

Progress log: I also pointed to "Completed 45%". This is the progress of the WU you have. Any error messages you encounter will also be shown here, and this would also be useful when asking for help. Just copy and paste the error messages (or messages...there can often be a dozen lines that are helpful) into a forum thread.

Notfred Virtual Machines (not GPU or SMP folding)

Some people use vmware machines (virtual machines that run Linux inside of Windows. See this sticky for more info). As the virtual machine boots, pay attention to the IP address your router or gateway assigns your virtual machine as below:

You can see in the above example, my virtual machine was assigned the address 192.168.1.115 automatically. You do not login to your virtual machine. Simply look for the IP address (arrow above). In the "Log Folder" field of the HFM.NET window below, you would type in exactly as shown:

\\192.168.1.115\c\etc\folding\1\

Also, please ensure that you have "Client is on Virtual Machine" only if you are running the virtual machine client.

Linuxrouter's Bigadv Virtual Machine

If you are running the Linuxrouter '-bigadv' virtual machine, the default location to type in would be \\FAH\fah . Also check "Client is on Virtual Machine":

Step 5: Additional settings

You have your basic setup done. Now its time to save our configuration file, and to do some basic tweaks to the program that may be helpful. You can choose not to do all of these options, but I like to use them myself so I will share them.

First, lets save our configuration file. You can backup this file so that all your settings are easy to reinstate if you reformat etc.

File->Save Configuration As

In the above example, I saved mine as "chrisdefaultHFM". This will allow me to easily recognize my HFM.NET file if I was browsing my "Documents" folder later on.

Next, we will tweak a few settings. Go to Edit->Preferences:

Then, select the "Startup" tab, and check off "Auto Run on Windows Startup", "Run Minimized", and "Load Configuration File." Make sure you select the configuration file we saved a few minutes ago.

Next, select the "Options" tab. I like to select "Auto Save Configuration when Changed" so that any changes I make, are automatically saved to "chrisdefaultHFM" file. Some people don't do this, and would rather have a separate file for different uses. Its up to you.

Also, make sure the "Calculate Bonus Credits and PPD" is selected, and that "LastThreeFrames" is chosen:

Then, you can select the "Web Settings" tab, and enter your ID settings. The "Extreme Overclocking User ID" can be found by accessing your stats page from Extreme Overclocking (EOC), which I will show you how to find next. You can also enter your Stanford ID, and Team ID.

By default, you will see harlam357's info in there. This is OK as it does not mean your points are going to another team.

**This would also be a great opportunity to thanks harlam for creating such a great utility!**

Well-known member

I think my problem is I installed the Windows Vista GPU Console client 6.23. It did not actually install but is running in the DOS style black window. Perhaps I have done something wrong once again but it is not in my program folder but is at 45% complete it's 1st job so far. I left the window open so I cold see it. I am guessing I should have installed Windows XP/2003/Vista GPU System tray client (installer msi) or Windows: V6 GPU2 (ATI 2xxx, 3xxx, 4xxx; nVidia) clients

Folding Captain

I think my problem is I installed the Windows Vista GPU Console client 6.23. It did not actually install but is running in the DOS style black window. Perhaps I have done something wrong once again but it is not in my program folder but is at 45% complete it's 1st job so far. I left the window open so I cold see it. I am guessing I should have installed Windows XP/2003/Vista GPU System tray client (installer msi) or Windows: V6 GPU2 (ATI 2xxx, 3xxx, 4xxx; nVidia) clients

Well-known member

Great job on the Guide, should make it a lot easier to help the new Team members.

One change, the vista SMP client now installs in C:\FAH
It used to install in C:\Program Files (x86) but they changed it because of Vista UAC permissions conflicts. As far as I know the AppData\Roaming only applies to the GPU default location...

Folding Captain

Great job on the Guide, should make it a lot easier to help the new Team members.

One change, the vista SMP client now installs in C:\FAH
It used to install in C:\Program Files (x86) but they changed it because of Vista UAC permissions conflicts. As far as I know the AppData\Roaming only applies to the GPU default location...

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